The award winning resort of Whistler, B.C., will be celebrating their 24th Gay Pride Festival January 23rd to 31st, 2016. GayCalgary Magazine is a proud sponsor of Whistler Pride, now for five years. We had only been able to attend the last two years, but last year, we were able to take a look at Whistler on a larger scale with the help of Tourism Whistler and Whistler Pride.

During the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games, Whistler was the host to a number of competitions, further boosting the awareness of the resort. Every year the resort wins a large number of awards as a ski and snowboard mecca; you can see easily see why when you arrive. Neither Rob nor I ski, and we are used to the National Park structure of Banff and Jasper, where the town is a short distance away from the slopes. So unless you are going to ski or snowboard, you don’t see the area where people ski. In Whistler, the town is right at the bottom of the ski slopes. During the ski season, in daylight, you will see most people walking in their ski or snowboard boots instead of standard footwear. It is generally a quick five to ten minute walk from hotel door to the ski lifts or gondolas, on which you pass by all of the stores, restaurants and other hotels. Most of the area is designed for walking so, if you bring or rent a car, expect to park it and only use it to get to other areas away from the village, to take the Sea-to-Sky Highway to Squamish, or to travel on to Vancouver, which is a 90 minute drive away.

Most of the people attending Whistler Pride will also come to ski or snowboard during the day time. Rob and I are amazed by how many people are up at dawn to head out to the slopes, finish at 4pm – when slopes close for safety reasons – then head over to Whistler Pride’s Apres Ski (which usually goes on between 3pm and 6pm), have dinner, then come back out for dancing until 1am or much later. And repeat the next morning. There are only a small number of Prides in Canada where – in addition to drinking and partying – they can work up a sweat doing outdoor activities.

I had a couple bad experiences when I was younger trying to ski, so I have never been interested in trying it again. But I enjoy seeing people skiing or snowboarding, plus the amazing scenery and being outdoors. Rob, though, had gotten an itch to try snowboarding a couple years ago when we were out at Whistler Pride 2014. He had his first lessons at Jasper Pride 2014, and Tourism Whistler was able to arrange lessons and slope time for him this year. The amount of places selling and renting equipment make it great for people who want to check out different gear. Rob was very happy with his lessons, in a small group, on an area of the slope designated for beginners.

For those who live to ski, the amount of runs – from novice to extreme – should keep you going for a long time. You have the choice of either Blackcomb Mountain (elevation of 2,440m/8,000ft) or Whistler Mountain (elevation of 2,182m/7,160ft). Whistler Village (elevation of 675m/2,215ft) sits right at the corner of the two mountains, so it is easy to change which mountain you want to be on when you are at the base, or you can cross using the Peak 2 Peak Gondola. With the two mountains, you get 8,176 acres/3308 hectares of skiing and snowboarding space. They also receive over 10m/33ft of snow fall every year. Whistler Mountain is also where most tourists will go up to mid point to check out the Roundhouse Lodge. The view is amazing.

From talking to people who attend Whistler Pride, all agree that it is a world class location to ski. There are so many different routes on the mountains that it is hard to get tired of them.

The other thing we tried was the Tube Park on Blackcomb Mountain. You take the Excalibur Gondola up to mid point, and then walk up the mountain a short distance. People only leave tubes behind once they are leaving the park, so you could wait a bit in line before getting one. A special conveyor lift takes you to the top of the park. There are a number of paths down, each being over 1000 feet long, but because the Tube Park is so popular, you could wait a bit to go back down. You have the choice of either going straight down, or the attendant will help spin your inner tube right at the start. I decided, since it was my first time down, I wanted to see the direction I was going to get a feel for what it is like. It was pretty fast and very cool. I felt like a kid again. We would have gone down more but it was so close to the mountain closing for the day that we had a feeling there would not be enough time. You don’t need any special equipment or training to use Tube Park, which makes it great for families.

Since we had slope passes, we decided to take the Whistler Village Gondola on Whistler Mountain to the Roundhouse Lodge. This is the main lookout for tourists where one can photograph an Inuksuk with the background of Whistler Mountain. The view is simply amazing.

We also took the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, which connects both mountains at their 2/3rd points. This gondola boasts that it is the longest unsupported lift span in the world, at 3.024km long, and also the highest lift of its kind with an elevation of 436 metres. Plan for at least two hours. Each way the ride is 20 to 25 minutes, plus exploration time. During the summer time, there are hiking trails to traverse too.

The Peak 2 Peak Gondola ride has some gondolas with a glass bottom. Rob and I tried it for the first trip. It is pretty cool being able to look down and see the trees pass under it, though not easy to take photos through the sludge and scratches on the plexi-glass, but there was enough to photograph around the gondola, plus at each destination point. Both points offer restaurants and bathrooms.

In the village, there are also a number of things to see and do. The entrance homes another Inuksuk, which can be photographed during the day, but also at night when it is lit up. The 2010 Olympics rings are also on display. The buildings themselves are pretty cool to look at, and as you walk through the streets, you see all sorts of statues and artwork. You will also see Pride Flags during Pride on the street lights too!

The village hosts a large amount of local and mainstream shops and restaurants. There are – from what we could tell – two liquor stores, each with a pretty impressive selection. The Marketplace IGA has pretty much has anything you would need for groceries and supplies and, for late night stuff, there is even a Mac’s, as well as several locally owned and operated smaller grocery stores.

In terms of retail, everything from Lululemon Athletica, North Face, Helly Hansen, Eddie Bauer, Root’s, Gap, and Foot Locker, to some really amazing local shops, line the streets. During Pride, a large number of these shops decorate their windows with Pride Rainbows and statements of support. It was a nice feel that everyone was so supportive of the pride festivities.

Rob and I only wished we had more time to try some of the restaurants out. Most of them are pretty packed during lunch and dinner, so we were constantly resorting to the IGA, Mac’s or KFC for quick bites to eat. We did, in 2014, have some food at Garibaldi Lift Co. Bar & Grill. The restaurant is located on top of the base ski lifts of Whistler Mountain. The place was extremely busy and the food was really good. Due to how busy they were, it was close to impossible to do a proper food review, but we are hoping to get a chance to go back. There are over 100 places to go for food and drink in Whistler. So regardless of what your budget is, time of day, local or mainstream, you can find something that you will enjoy. A good number of the restaurants feature organic and locally sourced ingredients.

There are a number of different snowshoeing tours one can take, and it is great way to experience the First Nations’ culture. You can also try bungee jumping from a 160ft bridge spanning 300ft over the Cheakamus river. For those who want to relaxi, the Scandinave Spa is something to be experienced. The spa uses an age-old Finnish tradition of soaking in soothing outdoor baths. They also offer deep tissue and Swedish massage.

In summer there are tons of trails to hike around the mountains and base. Zip lines and bungee jumping stay open as well, and golfing, horseback riding, tree adventures, white water rafting experiences come available. With the snow melted, you can also enjoy the lakes, beaches and parks in the area too. These are things we hope to experience at some point in the future.

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Contributor Steve Polyak |

Locale British Columbia | Whistler |

Topic Ski and Snowboard | Travel | Whistler Pride |

Photo Gallery Travel |Whistler |